Bruins Prove to Be Hard Act to Follow

The UCLA Bruins, hailed in 1998 as one of the great offenses in college football, are averaging 31 points and 402.7 yards a game this season in the shadow of their predecessors and wondering what it takes to be appreciated for themselves.

“I’ve created a monster, I think,” said Coach Bob Toledo, the hero and the culprit.

So it is that the Bruins play today’s 12:30 p.m. game at the Rose Bowl against California, a team with some defensive strengths, still looking for their first 40-point game of the season, a number they usually hit last season about halfway through the national anthem. Not that we’re comparing or anything.

Actually, the ’98 team that had a big-time quarterback, several quality receivers, a great line and a dangerous running game broke 40 each of the first five games, seven times in all, and had 28 in its only two sub-30 outings. The current group has so far peaked out at 38, in the opener against Boise State, and against opponents not from the Big West and Western Athletic conferences has scored 20, 32, 27 and 34.

The ’98 team finished eighth in the country in total offense. The current group is fifth in the Pacific 10 Conference.

The ’99 numbers are respectable, but they’re not the ’98 numbers, so something must be wrong.

“I hear that a lot,” flanker Freddie Mitchell said. “I just don’t know what to say. Shoot, last year, first down on a drive, we’d go and score the first time we touched the ball. Now, it’s taking a long time. Maybe that’s why people are doing that.”

Why are people knocking an offense that has dealt with injury, suspension and inexperience and nonetheless trails only four teams in the conference in touchdowns scored?

“Everybody expects all these things,” said Toledo, the former offensive coordinator whose teams have scored at least 30 points in 29 of his 41 games as head coach. “Everybody expects me to run a trick play every play now. I won a game and that’s not enough. It kind of makes you laugh, that’s all. It’s not a frustration. It makes me laugh--not enough this, not enough that. People make me laugh, that’s all.

“We had, what, 400-and-something yards [last week against Oregon]? That’s a lot of yards. We scored 34 points. And people are complaining. I have a hard time understanding all of this, I really do. I have a hard time. Wow. I think we’re averaging 31 a game, with a young football team. I’m pleased at our progress.

“You know what I’m saying. You hear things like, ‘We’re not making enough big plays, we’re not doing this or that.’ We’re scoring 31 points. That’s pretty good. In the old days, if you scored 21 it was pretty good. Now, you score 31 and it’s not as good.”

It’s still this good:

At the current pace, this will be the third-highest scoring UCLA team of the last 11 years.

The asterisk is that the two highest are from the two previous seasons, so history remains an opponent. So does the present--the Cal defense leads the Pac-10 in sacks, with 15 more than the Bruins even though UCLA has played one more game. The Bears are capable of applying major pressure on quarterback Cory Paus and capitalizing on the absence of injured tailback DeShaun Foster.

Andre Carter is tied for No. 1 in the conference in sacks among individuals with seven and leads in tackles for a loss with 13. Cornerback Deltha O’Neal, also a threat on punt and kickoff returns, is tied for the Pac-10 lead in interceptions with four.

Thus the opponents are well established today for the UCLA offense: the Cal defense and previous UCLA offenses. They’re the ones that made the expectations so high.

“Exactly,” tackle Brian Polak said. “Not just that, but I don’t think we’ve really looked dominant. We haven’t played a complete game. If you looked dominant doing it, then people won’t say, ‘What’s wrong the offense?’ ”

The Bruins would like to hang a 50 on somebody to make a statement, even a 40.

“We would,” Polak said. “That would be nice.”